The premier event of the Greek Meetings’ industry, the 14th Annual HAPCO & DES Conference, titled "Metamorphosis," will take place from Monday, March 10 to Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at the Megaron Athens International Conference Centre.

This year's theme reflects the transformative power of change, highlighting the evolution of our industry, our community, and our aspirations for the future.

Preliminary Topics:

• Repositioning Greece as a Meetings Destination
• Greece as a Destination for International Conferences and Events: Establishment of a National Convention Bureau
• From Dream to Conception – The Metamorphosis of a Destination
• The Helexpo Case Study
• Hospitality in the Frontline: The Game-Changing Role of Conference Hotels
• Innovation – The Backbone of Transformation
• Mastering Client & People Management: Building Trust, Leadership, and Connection
• The Human Leader of the New Era
• Sustainable Metamorphosis of the MICE Market: Certification and Beyond
• Breaking Barriers: Shaping a Future for All
• Students Competition
• The Leaders of Tomorrow

Speakers

Τhe program includes top names from the MICE industry who have already confirmed their participation, such as:

• Nicky McGrane | CEO at Conference Partners International
• Patrick Delaney | Managing Partner at SoolNua
• Joaquim Pires | Head of MICE Unit at Turismo de Portugal
• Camilla Örnroth | Senior International Account Manager - bringing your meeting to life in Gothenburg
• Dimitris Fragkakis | President of the Development Organization of the Region of Attica "New Metropolitan Attica S.A."
• Dimitris Ganitis | Managing Director, Thessaloniki Conventional Bureau
• Athanasios Miheloggonas | Deputy Regional Governor for Tourism, Region of Peloponnese
• Maria Papadopoulou | This is Athens-CVB Director
• Elena Rapti | Deputy Minister of Tourism, Hellenic Ministry of Tourism
• Grigoris Tasios | President of the Halkidiki Tourism Organization & Halkidiki Hotels Association
• Αlexandros Thanos | Special Advisor, Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE)
• Eugenios Vasilikos | President of the Athens Hotel Association
• Kyriakos Pozrikidis | CEO at TIF – HELEXPO S.A.
  
  
• Alexandros Angelopoulos | Managing Director of Aldemar Resorts
• Marea Laoutari | Life & Business Strategist
• Alexis Lagoudakis | CEO at Metropolitan Expo
• Vasilis Mentzelopoulos | Managing Director at Amuse Event Management
• Panos Panayotopoulos | Chief Executive Officer at Donkey Hotels & Resorts
• Ioannis Pappas | Founder & CEO of GREEN EVOLUTION
• Rania Semertzian | Communications Consultant - Soft Skills Trainer

Program

Download the program in pdf form

Registration

Don't miss the opportunity to participate in this unique event! Register now and be part of the change shaping the future of our industry.

👉 14th Annual Meeting HAPCO & DES: “Metamorphosis”

Registration: 14ο Πανελλήνιο Συνέδριο HAPCO & DES : Metamorphosis

We are waiting for you at a conference filled with inspiration and dynamic participation!

HAPCO Conferences

30 September 2024

Preliminary Topics:

• The Future of the Meetings Industry
• Personal and Professional Growth
• The Use of AI in the Meetings & Hospitality Industry
• Adopt to Change
• Empowering the Next Generation
• Tackling Risks & Threats 
• Sustainability & Inclusion
• Event Marketing in the New Digital Era
• Tomorrow’s Land
• Open Debate – Our Members’ Voice
• The Global Players of the Industry Lead the Conversation

Meeting Program

Download the program in pdf form

Mobile Application

HAPCO Conferences

21 August 2023

Meeting Program

Download the program in pdf form

Meeting Program

Themes

The power of collaboration
New leadership models
Accelerating sustainable development- Diversity
Greece - MICE Destination
Team Management – Α different approach
Trends for hybrid & virtual events
New Technologies in the covid-era
Accelerating development in the Meetings Industry - What is coming?
Knowledge exchange on global level
Next Generation Leadership in the frontline
Best practices from meetings professionals
Wellbeing & Mental Fitness key elements in the business environment
Mice partners discussing pricing and contracts in the post-COVID era

Under the Auspices

 

 

Registration

Registrations have begun for the 11th Annual Meeting HAPCO & DES, entitled “Reconnect to Accelerate” which will be held on 12th & 13th April, at the Divani Caravel Hotel, in Athens.

In the aftermath of the pandemic which had a great impact on our Industry, we are ready to return to our normal operation more powerful and unified than ever.  Our Association and our voice have become stronger by joining forces with the largest DMC Companies in the country.

We have prepared a highly interesting conference program which will include lectures, panel sessions and presentations on the challenges, trends and value of the MICE industry, discussions on the strategy for the future, as well as other key topics related to personal development, mental health, team management,  technology, next generation leadership and many other, presented by leading executives and key opinion leaders from Greece and abroad.

Join us! Registrations here https://era.eventsair.com/11o-hapco-des/reg/Site/Register

To register please click on the button below or scan the QR code

Online Registration

GOLDEN SPONSORS

SPONSORS

SUPPORTERS

 

 

HAPCO Conferences

10 February 2022

The ultimate event of the Greek Meetings Industry is coming up, in March 2023.
Stay tuned!

HAPCO Conferences

10 February 2022

9th HAPCO Pan-Hellenic Conference

Meetings Industry in Greece: Shaping The Future!

The 9^th Annual HAPCO Meeting (Hellenic Association of Professional Congress Organizers) took place on 11^th-12^th April 2019 at the Radisson Blu Park Hotel, in Athens.

 The congress focused on the following areas of interest and thematic streams:

• Strategic development of the MICE Industry
• The Human Approach
• Innovation & Technologies
• Opportunities for the development of the Meetings Industry in our country
• Promotion of Greece as an “all seasons” meetings destination
• Adjusting and adopting on the latest international trends of the Industry
• 2030 Vision
• Improvement of provided services;
• Emerging leaders – Bringing in the young generation

The congress program also included IAPCO (International Association of Professional Congress Organizers) Educational Seminars on topics such as: "Designing the Future of Brand Experience" and "Top Tips for Embedding Technology in Your Next Event" by Kim Myhre, Managing Director of MCI Experience.

During the two-day congress participants had the privilege to benefit from experts from the MICE industry as well as highly qualified professionals from other fields in Technology, Management, GDPR, Consulting, Human Resource Management, Communication, Nutrition, Leadership,  etc.

During the Opening Ceremony, the General Secretary for Tourism Policy and Development Mr. Giorgos Tziallas, making a report on tourism policy, pointed out that state cooperation with the private sector contributed to the increase of numbers in Tourism by 35% over the last four years. He also stressed that the growth rate of Tourism is three times higher than the growth rate of the economy, including all related sectors.

In an effort to extend the “season”, the Secretary-General of the Greek National Tourism Organization, Mr. Konstantinos Tsegas, stated that the “Government supports various actions to that direction and in order to do so, specifications for the congress centers have been imposed and financial motives have been provided for the construction and improvement of the facilities…"

Mrs Irene Tolis, President of the Hellenic Association of Professional Congress Organizers - HAPCO, expressed her gratitude to the Athens Concert Hall & International Convention Center, the only congress center in Athens capable of hosting national & international events with a capacity of maximum of 2,500-3,500 attendees.

 She also highlighted the lack of a large Convention Center in Greece, which will allow biddings for large -scale events, stressing that "our goal is to be competitive, to use state of the art technology, to have the support of the state and the authorities and last but not least to, convince all parties of the importance of the Congress Industry for Greece ". The need to join forces was highlighted by all invited speakers.

HAPCO welcomes the new generation – emerging Leaders

One of HAPCO’ s main priorities and strategic goals for the future, is to enhance the interest of young people in the Meetings Industry, to make them more active in actions initiated by the Association and to alert them in regards to the potentials for development in the Industry. In this sense, HAPCO Program Committee launched a competition among colleges & universities involved in the Industry. The competition, launched during the congress, for undergraduate or postgraduate students in Tourism studies, will definitely become a part of all future HAPCO congresses as it was undoubtably very successful.   

The essays and presentations were impressive and showcased the enthusiasm of young leaders to shape the Industry by using all future trends.  

The new HAPCO BoD was elected 

The General Assembly and Elections took place at the end of the 2-day event. The new Board of Directors for the term 2019-2022, is as follows: 

President: Irene Tolis

Vice-President: Panayiotis Podimata

sVice-President: Georgia KerasidouGeneral

Secretary: Sissy Lygnou

Treasurer: Dimitris Paliouras

Members: Antonia Alexandrou, Κostas Karagiorgakis, Emmanouella Moussama, Georgia Tsatsou.

HAPCO Conferences

29 March 2019

8th HAPCO Pan-Hellenic Conference

31/1 & 1/2/2018 / Grande Bretagne Hotel (Athens)

«Changes, Trends & Challenges of our Meetings Industry»

*Thanks to our sponsor company Livemedia.gr, you can watch the conference on demand here.

HAPCO Conferences

30 November 2018

Under the auspices of

 

 

The future of Conference Tourism

The 9^th Panhellenic Conference on Business and Conference Tourism, organized by τhe Hellenic Association of Professional Congress Organizers - HAPCO, will take place on April 11^th & 12^th, 2019, at Radisson Blu Park hotel, Athens, having the title: ‘Shaping the future’.

The conference will focus on crucial concerns identified by the Greek conference and touristic sector, with an eye to the future.

The International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO), esteemed professionals representing the local and international conference market, political liberty representatives, distinguished members of the academic community as well as representatives of organizations/associations of the tourism sector will take part in the conference.

During the two-day conference proceedings, the following subjects which concern the conference tourism will be developed:

• Development strategies in the constantly changing Meetings Industry
• PCO-DMC Alliance: Challenges & Trends
• GDPR 2 
• Negotiation Skills
• Team Management
• Organising a Corporate Meeting
• IAPCO Educational Session
• New Technologies
• Leadership Skills
• Press Office and Publicity Press Office and Publicity
• Abstract Presentations and Awards: Youth is Shaping the Future
• Developments in Social media: Challenges & trends for the professional digital profile
• Congress and Hotel infrastructure: the future

Conference Review

To read the final Conference Review please click here

Photo Album

To view to Conference Photo Album please click here

HAPCO Conferences

30 November 2018

7th HAPCO Pan-Hellenic Conference & Workshops 

8 & 9 December 2011 / Aegli Zappeiou (Athens)

“Greek Meetings Industry: A Contribution to Development”

*Thanks to our sponsor company Livemedia.gr, you can watch the conference on demand here.

HAPCO Conferences

30 November 2018

6th HAPCO Pan-Hellenic Conference & Workshops 

4 & 5 March 2010 / "Hellenic Cosmos" Convention & Culural Centre (Athens)

“Managing Change in the Meetings Industry”

*You can download the prοceedings here.

Due to the valued assistance of our sponsors P.C. Podimatas Audiovisual S.A. as well as Chorus Call Hellas S.A., you can see live the 6th conference here.

HAPCO Conferences

30 November 2018